Anticipation for the World Cup is building as June 12th gets closer and closer. Yesterday, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann cut down the men’s team to 30 players. Coach Klinsmann found the reduction to a 30-man roster to be a hard decision. “Making those phone calls and telling them that they’re not part of the 30-man roster was unpleasant. Every call you make is a tough one,” Klinsmann said.
There were some obvious picks for the coach to make including Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey. However, the biggest surprise was that veteran Eddie Johnson was left off the list. It is especially shocking since he scored the clinching goal against Mexico back in September. Speculation has been roaming around that Klinsmann excluded Johnson from the roster due to some incriminating comments that Johnson made about his D.C. United teammates.
Klinsmann denied these reports by saying that Johnson’s rejection had to do that only six forwards are permitted on the 30-man roster. He is considering Donovan as a pure forward for the World Cup but who knows if that is the true reason behind Johnson’s omission from the roster.
Johnson reacted to the news on his Twitter right away. “Disappointed not to be joining my brothers at the World Cup, but wish all the best,” Johnson tweeted. “Time to get back to work in DC #GOUSA #VamosUnited.”
The 30-man roster will begin camp at Stanford University tomorrow. Klinsmann will make his decision on who will be the final 23 men that will be on the roster for Brazil after the June 1st game against Turkey since final submissions have to be into FIFA by June 2. In the picture below is the 30-man roster that will be competing for the final 23 spots.
Photo Credit: Twitter
Most of these players still have to prove that they are worthy of a spot on this team. The team is in Group G against tough competitors including: Germany, Portugal, and Ghana and it seems that Klinsmann wants players who will combat against this tough competition.
